Hai asked the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to make plans for better control, prioritizing the shutting down all forests in the country.

Vietnam has just 10.3 million hectares of natural forests with an estimated 862 million cubic meters of timber. But only five percent of these are considered "rich," with more than 250 cubic meters of wood per hectare, the meeting heard.

The closure of forests needs to be followed up with measures to encourage the planting of trees as well as scientific research to aid forest recovery.

Officials said budget disbursement for planting trees has been very slow.

Hai said such reluctant investment needs to be stopped, and the importance of forest protection should no longer be "underestimated."

He said hydropower projects will be asked to plant trees on an area equal to the land that they have taken. If local authorities have not allocated the land for reforestation, the investor can pay them the money for it first, he added.

New projects will only be approved if the investors submit specific reforestation plans, Hai said.